I use the Early Phonological Awareness Stories in class lessons for grades K and 1. The characters are easy to relate to and my students love hearing about their adventures. The rhyming and alliteration lessons are great supplements to class curriculum. The teachers are excited to have follow-up stories and activities to do in their classroom centers. Great job!

Julie Rakowitz, SLPNorwalk, CT

Numerous studies have shown that children who demonstrate phonological awareness are more successful in learning to read than those children who lack such understanding (Wagner & Torgesen, 1987).

The relationship between phonological awareness and reading acquisition has led to studies examining the effectiveness of training phonological awareness in at-risk children. Research has demonstrated that training can result in significant improvement of phonological awareness (Ball & Blachman, 1991; van Kleeck, Gillam, & McFadden, 1998).

Catts (1991) has encouraged phonological awareness training and has suggested the use of stories containing rhyming, alliterative, or nonsense sound sequences with children at the preschool or kindergarten level as a way of drawing attention to the sound structure of speech.

Early Phonological Awareness Stories Fifi Firefly incorporates these principles and is also based on expert professional practice.

These exciting and humorous stories have activities embedded within them to teach vocabulary, phonological awareness, and language skills. Surprises in the story plots and endearing illustrations build anticipation for the next page!

Author(s)

Pat Tulloss

Biography

Pat Tulloss, M.S., CCC-SLP, has over 25 years experience as a speech-language pathologist. She started her professional career in the public schools in Birmingham, Alabama, before working for 17 years at the University of Alabama, where she was an instructor, a clinical supervisor, and a coordinator of preschool speech and language services. Her areas of interest included phonological disorders, autism, and dementia.

Pat currently manages a team of trainers for a software company in Birmingham, Alabama. Her hobbies include travel, cooking, and gardening.

Introduction

Early Phonological Awareness Stories features eight books designed to promote skills in phonological awareness and language enrichment. Each book centers around the adventures of a primary character:

Sweet Sammy—He's a big, lovable golden retriever. He loves to play and go for rides, but sometimes his enthusiasm gets him into trouble.

Rags Rabbit—Rags is short for Roosevelt Ragsdale Rabbit the Third. His fur is always fluffy and his clothes are neat and clean. He's a really fast rabbit and he hates that he's afraid of storms.

Lucky Lenny—He's a very lucky duck and lives at Tully's Pond.

The five stories in each book promote phonological awareness through rhyme and alliteration. The repetitive chorus at the end of each verse provides auditory bombardment of the target speech sound and encourages student participation during shared reading. Each book includes reading suggestions, ideas for improving phonological awareness, and language enrichment activities for teachers and caregivers.

Each book also includes two fun, story-related game activities. These activities are great for therapy or take-home supplements to promote carryover.